Ouch Vehicle? Itasha is a term made by combining the Japanese word for painful (itai) and car (jidosha), and it basically means just that: Painful Car. The term describe cars that are usually covered in pictures of anime or game characters.

Whether the name came about because it is painful to be seen driving one or because they are painful to look at, there is a small niche otaku sect that likes that kind of pain.

Itasha is still pretty much a fringe trend but with the gradual acceptance of otaku culture and the growing mainstream appeal, it wasn't long before Itasha invaded mainstream motorsport. Goodsmile racing took super GT's Itasha virginity with their championship winning BMW Z4 GT300 Hatsune Miku car back in 2008.

2014 sees a second painful car take the grid in the form of Pacific Racing’s LOVE LIVE! School Idol Project Porsche 911 GT300. Featuring characters from the animated TV series LOVE LIVE!

This (unholy?) alliance seeks to further bring anime fans into the motorsports fold, maybe convince revheads to watch cartoons about schoolgirls who can’t sing well, and thereby make much moneys for all parties involved.

Yeah, Scroll Down for More and Racequeens. [It's worth it. -Ed.]

In the end though, Super GT is about the racing, and while this new team showed promise in the qualifying round of the Fuji Speedway race, they finished in 13th place, well behind the Hatsune Miku itasha which took the win. With the next race at Autopolis in Kyushu looming at the end of the month, the school idols will need to dig deep to take on the vocaloid.

TLDR? Dont care about 2D schoolgirls on cars? Think a Tesla is the coolest car ever?

Yeah But Still - Racecars & Girls...Worry not, Pacific Racing, being a Super GT team naturally comes with it’s own team of racequeens too…

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